Now that HHS Secretary Tom Price has resigned over his abuse of chartered flights and the taxpayers who funded them, it's helpful both to have some perspective and to see this as a microcosm of why the 2016 election happened.

While it is truly hard to fathom what Price, a smart guy and successful physician, was thinking in charging taxpayers over $1 million on flights since May alone, let’s be honest: His behavior was just the latest example of the longstanding D.C. tradition of taxpayer dollars being abused by "public servants." These abuses have been perpetrated by both Republican and Democrat administrations and members of Congress (Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez’s ongoing federal corruption trial is evidence of that).

What's more painful is the blatant hypocrisy of Price's actions. Not too long ago, then-Congressman Price was calling out Democrats for their use of private jets, calling it yet "another example of fiscal irresponsibility run amok in Congress right now."Price’s apparent laissez-faire attitude at the taxpayers' trough is why the American working class has lost faith in and despises Washington, D.C., and is why many Americans no longer trust their institutions. This is why 2016 happened. This is why people rallied around the idea of "draining the swamp."

But I would put it a little differently: 2016 was really about the American working class waking up to the fact that our system of government -- supposedly of the people, by the people and for the people -- is not working to benefit them, but rather a small ruling class made up of Republicans, Democrats, and their special interest cronies and corrupt consultants.

As this system devolves, the outcome will be despotism -- smiling statism or velvet despotism, but despotism nonetheless. Many of us pay taxes at a rate exceeding 50 percent when federal, state, local, food and gas taxes are combined. Yet many in Washington, D.C. have a mindset of "separate but equal," in which they feel more entitled and more enlightened than the great unwashed masses out in the hinterlands who fund their pay and egregious behavior.

Some years ago, I wrote about the ruling class as "American Royalty," and it still holds true today. The behavior of Price and many others adds insult to injury by using the working class' hard-earned money to live a lifestyle many of them could never afford. We understand that in just associations, in civilized society, there are taxes to be paid for security and infrastructure and other limited government services. But we fund our government to advocate and protect the rights of the American people, not for government workers to advance their own narrow interests. Government work is supposed to be about service, not living the lifestyle of the rich and famous on taxpayer dollars.

Donald Trump ran on draining the swamp, on rejecting the status quo and business as usual. While I presume Price was given the choice to either resign or be fired, I would tell the president this: Tom Price’s (presumably forced) resignation does not guarantee future change. Price’s behavior is merely a symptom of "Swamp Disease."

What Trump must immediately do, through an Executive Order, is lay down stronger guidelines, standards and practices as to how his Executive Branch and Cabinet members spend taxpayer dollars and government resources. This will not only set the tone for this administration, but will help change the behavior of future administrations. There will be hell to pay for any president who might revoke that order.

In the end, we want public servants, not elected officials, and there is a massive difference between the two. So Mr. President, don’t just address the symptoms of "Swamp Disease." Cure the disease.

Ned Ryun is the Founder and CEO of American Majority, a national grassroots organization. Learn more at

The ironic thing about the firing, sorry, the "resignation" of Tom Price is that Trump was upset about how much he'd spent on flights during his tenure. Yet Trump likely spends many times that amount every single weekend he's away from the White House at one of his resorts. Thirty plus weekends since he took office means a lot more taxpayer money wasted than the $500,000 Price allegedly spent.

Did I dream about Trump pledging not to leave the White House or play golf because he'd be so busy?

"Buy it cheap. Stack it deep""Any community that fails to prepare, with the expectation that the federal government will come to the rescue, will be tragically wrong." Michael Leavitt, HHS Secretary.

Their own demise, Satori. It has become obvious, to me at least, that they (Trump's rich supporters) do not give a **** what happens to anyone else and the rest of his voters spring from the few poor folk too stupid to see the facts and easily programable by the bull**** who, therfore, support him whatever he does - as Fox News and his own tweets say he is infallable, incorruptable and probably the "Second coming".

Amen to that, Techno. I'm still shaking my head at the audacity of the GOP in pushing through a "middle class tax bill" which punishes teachers who are forced to buy their own school supplies, yet gives tax breaks to owners of private jets and golf courses.

"Buy it cheap. Stack it deep""Any community that fails to prepare, with the expectation that the federal government will come to the rescue, will be tragically wrong." Michael Leavitt, HHS Secretary.

Between 1998 and 1999, Ryan Zinke, then a Navy SEAL Team 6 officer,
traveled to and from his home in Montana and billed the Department
of Defense for his travel expenses. According to a report last year by Mathew Cole of The Intercept:

Two SEAL officers investigated Zinke’s records and discovered a
yearslong “pattern of travel fraud,” according to two of the sources.
When confronted about the trips, Zinke acknowledged that he spent the
time repairing and restoring a home in Whitefish, Montana, and visiting
his mother, according to two retired SEAL Team 6 leaders. The future
lawmaker eventually told SEAL leaders that the Montana house was where
he intended to live after he retired from the Navy.

After he was warned, he continued the same behavior until he was kicked off the team. That was a light—very
light—punishment for his behavior, which would have resulted in a court
martial for any officer not in the high-profile SEAL Team 6. But he got
away with reimbursing the government a measly $211 for a single trip,
and accepting that commander would be his terminal grade.

swamp drainin' is haaarrrrrdddddd work

but Trump hasnt busted a sweat

because he hasn't done ANY swamp draining

the evidence shows quite the opposite

“The point of modern propaganda isn’t only to misinform or push an agenda. It is to exhaust your critical thinking, to annihilate truth.” Gary Kasparov

These people are very, very vindictive! If you look at everything they've done, it is all aimed at hurting the people who did not support "them" and helping the people who did! Who tries to take health insurance away from the poor, and gives tax breaks to the richest of a country while raising taxes on the poor, who tries to send young men and women that were brought here as children, who've gone to school here, graduated college here, paid taxes here, started businesses here and want nothing more than to be good U.S, citizens back to a country they've never known? Who if they don't outright support, at least idly standby and don't speak out about hate speach, white supremacy, neo-nazi's, hate of Jews, Muslims, Hispanics, Blacks, and anyone else who doesn't espouse their beliefs? The answer is obvious and this must be stopped! This is not the country my family has always fought and died for, it's a country they would have fought and died against! God help us all if we too stand idly by!

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